To Judge A Book By It's Cover- SasuNaru Modern AU
by LoveCreatesHabbits
Summary: Naruto is a 'monster', in everyone's eyes. He's lived trying to gain acknowledgement from all the pepole at his high school, and village, but none have even taken the time to get to know the real him. All they see is the one thing he has no control over. Well, except for the new hot transfer student, Sasuke Uchiha. Warning: harsh topics such as depression, and suicide to be seen.
1. Monster - Chapter 1

**Kc: Hey new story! Hope you all enjoy the begging, and obviously it's a SasuNaru FanFiction, so if you don't like gays then feel free to leave, the door is right there **** You've been warned so o hate comments or discrimination, I HATE IT WITH A PASSION!**

**Anyways I do NOT own Naruto, all right goes to its owner! **

Naruto sat, in front of the small, box shaped TV, box of ramen in his left hand while the other flicked through pointless channels. He slurped absentmindedly on his ramen, and continued watching whatever the TV had landed on. His nights usually consisted of this routine; get home from school, take a shower, make himself some ramen, and turn on the TV eventually passing out on his sofa. It was a nice and relaxing life, but one he would trade for a regular schoolboy life in a heartbeat. He'd never met his parents, and had been looked after by his parents friend Jiraiya, ever since he was little. But when he turned the age 16, he bought his own apartment, and moved in on his own. He liked his personal space, seeing how that's the only thing he got. People rarely got near the poor boy, because of something he had no control over. It angered him, but he didn't let it show. All he ever wanted was for someone to acknowledge him, and to not be looked at as a monster anymore.

But no one even tried to get to know Naruto, they just stayed clear, glaring at him from afar. Judging him because of the monster inside of him. The monster cast a shadow over Naruto, cloaking him into the form of the monster himself, even though he was innocent and kind. He didn't deserve a life filled with sorrow and despair, quite the opposite really. Even though everyone in his village looked at him with those eyes of hatred, and dread, he just smiled hoping for some type of acknowledgement besides angry glares. He constantly did nice things, never saying anything bad about any of the people who he always heard talking about him. Whispers of harsh words, and warnings, not knowing the 'monster' himself could hear them. No matter how hard he tried to stay cheerful, the words were eating away at him in the inside. Taking bits and pieces of his happy exterior with them, as his façade crumbled right before his own eyes. He found it hard to even try and smile, and he always had haunting thoughts that wouldn't let him sleep at night. Thoughts of what ifs, and the village without him; he didn't even know he let another monster in. Blocking all happy thoughts, slowing him down, even making him not want to do simple tasks like brushing his teeth.

That light optimistic boy was tearing at his seams with no one to sew him back up. No one to tell him he was _worth_ something. No one to say that he made their world brighter. No one to even say a simple 'Good Morning' to him. Just his own head, thoughts, feelings, emotions.

It had been about an hour of just simply watching whatever comedy show that used to make him happy before Naruto sighed, finishing the last of his ramen, and setting it on the coffee table next to all the other empty boxes of ramen. He didn't have the motivation to clean up at all anymore, so his tiny apartment was not in a any better situation then Naruto. Ignored and neglected, sitting the same way every night, just being put aside like trash.

Naruto ignored it, saying he would clean up tomorrow, and tomorrow turned into the day after that, then the day after that, and so on.

Naruto didn't care really though, as he turned off his small TV, and laid down on the couch, too lazy to go to his bedroom and get into bed and sleep. Just the thought of it made Naruto even more tired than he already was, so he closed his eyes snuggling into the couch much like every night.

**-O-o-O-**

Naruto stared up at his white ceiling as he saw the sun gently cast a shadow on top of it, telling him the sun had finally come up. He was already awake before dawn, just like usual. Never getting sleep, and just waiting for the sun to rise. He sighed running his hands up and down his face as he sat up on his couch, cracked his neck as he got up off the uncomfortable resting place. He stretched his back, closing his eyes and letting out a loud yawn.

He slowly walked to his bathroom, dragging his feet behind him as he went. He then took out his orange toothbrush from his cabinet, and slowly got out his toothpaste as well. This was one of the few times he had actually decided he would brush his teeth, out of the week. It was a lowly Tuesday, and he had to go back to school in less than an hour; something he was not excited for. He lazily brushed his unusually sharp teeth, his head bobbing up and down as he fell in and out of consciousness. His lack of sleep was starting to get to him, he could barely even keep his eyes open.

He spit out his toothpaste, and rinsed his mouth out with water, splashing some water on his face as he did so. He slapped his face lightly trying to wake himself up, but failing miserably.

He groaned slowly walking into his small bedroom, and sorted through the clothes on his hangers, wondering what to wear. Really not caring he threw on a loose orange tank top, and some baggy ripped jeans.

He grabbed his cheap flip phone and shoved it into his pocket, walking towards his cluttered kitchen. It was very dirty, and desperately needed cleaning. There were dirty dishes, and empty ramen boxes everywhere, but none of that even affected Naruto. He couldn't careless, he liked it the way it was, and saw no problem with it.

He simply walked in and grabbed a cup from his cupboard, and filled it with water from the fridge, skipping out on breakfast like every morning. He used to be so eager to eat all the time, but now his appetite was little to non-existent, the only time he ate was at night, and he always ate the same thing.

Ramen.

It was the one thing Naruto loved most, he refused to eat anything else, and he never got sick of it either. It was like gold to him, and even if his appetite had gone down a lot he still managed to eat at least one cup a day of it. Of course this isn't healthy for a growing teenage boy, especially since Naruto rarely went out of his house except to go to school. Most people would think he had to have gained weight, but really the opposite happened. He started to eat less and less, and now he was growing very skinny. Jiraiya had tried to make him eat something else, but again he refused. Jiraiya was also so busy and rarely had time to check up on Naruto, but when he did he spent the night babying him to no end. Making sure he brushed his teeth, practically shoving his pajamas on him, buying tons of meat and trying to force him to eat it; to Naruto it was torcher but he knew that he was just worried about him.

Something he wasn't really used too, and it felt odd to be taken care of. Even if he did live with Jiraiya while growing up, he was gone most of the time, or reading perverted books in his office. He cared for Naruto dearly, and Naruto knew that all too well, yet he still felt so alone. Even in school, surrounded by lots of other kids his age, he felt like he was the only one there. They all ignored or made fun of him, calling him a monster, a spawn of Satan, crazy, etc.

He'd even gotten used to getting challenges to fight, and he would always lose, not because he wasn't strong enough but just because he didn't fight back. Naruto had always been overwhelmingly strong, even at his skinny and weakened state he was still very powerful, and could pack a great punch.

He hated, no _despised _violence, because it's what made everyone fear him. The strength that the monster had, is what killed his parents. Strength was something Naruto had, but he thought only in muscle, but he was truthfully so strong for fighting back the darkness for so long. There were few like him, but even so there were people who knew his pain, yet simply let the darkness consume them, and they themselves turned into the monster.

He sluggishly threw on his shoes, and swung his backpack over his shoulder, as he made his way out of his apartment. He swung his key around his finger as he stepped out of his quaint apartment. He then turned on his heel and locked his door in one swift motion.

Sighing he jogged down the stairs of his apartment building and set out to another day in hell, A.K.A school.

**-O-o-O-**

Naruto sat in his seat, notebook open in front of him, drawing random chibis. He didn't draw for a hobby but it was a good time killer for him.

He sat in the very back of the classroom, in a rather claustrophobic corner minding his own business. He'd been sitting there for about 5 minutes just drawing and casually looking at the classroom, watching as all the kids filed in and took their seats. They mindlessly chatted with their friends, laughing, casually flirting, telling each other inside jokes which Naruto had never had the opportunity to learn. He was out of the loop, but in a way he didn't mind.

He kept to himself, but when someone did pay attention to him, he tried to be the happiest he was able to be. Smiles, laughing pretending not to be affected by the glares they sent back. It was like a routine, and it kept getting harder each time.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that his teacher, Kakashi-sensei, had decided to finally make an appearance. That man was always late, he seemed to not really give a damn about his job. Not that it really mattered to Naruto, he was actually pretty fond of the man. He didn't ever glare at Naruto or look at him with disgust, and he would often try to make Naruto feel better. Naruto also occasionally ate with him in the classroom.

But this time, Kakashi didn't walk in alone. Walking slowly behind him was a very good looking boy, he had raven colored hair that was spiked in the back, but yet still looked very soft. He had obsidian colored eyes that seemed to pierce through everything he looked at. Despite being almost pitch black, you could see a tiny bit of light blue in them if you looked hard enough. His nose laid perfectly in the middle of his face, showing off his perfect cheekbones. He had light pink, soft looking lips that went perfectly with his creamy pale skin. He had a stoic look on his face as he followed behind sensei quietly, his hands were shoved in the pockets of his black skinny jeans. He wore a white V-neck shirt underneath a light leather jacket. He had a perfectly lean body, to the point it looked like his jeans would fall down even though they were tight fitting.

Naruto was stunned, as it seemed he was the definition of perfection. He wasn't surprised at all when he heard all the gasps and high pitched squeals from all the girls; he was a living breathing literal chick magnet!

Naruto tried to take his eyes away from the boy, but his eyes wouldn't listen to him. They stayed following the boys every move, wondering who the heck this perfect boy was.

As the boy moved to the front of the room, his eyes flickered towards Naruto, and Naruto couldn't help but suck in air. He was awe struck; the boy's eyes studied him carefully, taking note that there was no one sitting next to him. The boy smirked, making chills run down Naruto's spin. He'd never felt like that before, who is this boy?

"Okay, everyone, it's seems we have a new student today. Please introduce yourself." Kakashi sensei, said while patting the boy on the back. The boy nodded.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm pleased to meet you." Sasuke, stated never taking his eyes off Naruto. Naruto's heart was beating so fast it felt like he was going to have a heart attack, so he quickly turned his head back towards his notebook, avoiding his eye contact.

"Alright everyone, please make him feel welcome. Go ahead and take a seat anywhere you like." Kakashi offered, smiling slightly. (Not that anyone could see it behind his mask lol)

Sasuke nodded, and slowly contemplated which seat to take. Not that it took him long to make a choice.

Naruto discreetly looked up from the corner of his eye, and almost squealed as he saw the Uchiha walking down the row of desks, towards the empty one next to him. He was shocked that out of all the seats, he choose the one next to him. There were tons of pretty girls pushing people out of their chairs in order to get the stunning boy to sit next to him, but yet he just ignored them! As the new boy sat down next to the astonished Naruto and flashed him a winning smirk, the only thought going through Naruto's mind was, 'who is this guy?'

**Kc: Hope you guys enjoyed the start of this new story! Please R&amp;R Luv ya! I love feedback so be sure to tell me how I did! :) **


	2. Get Close - Chapter 2 (Re-written)

**Kc: So this story was something I stopped because to be bluntly honest, I forgot about it. But I came across this the other day and suddenly had some inspiration. Not to mention the amazing responses I've gotten. Thank you all for that! Anyways, I wanted to explain that I have re-written the second chapter; which is down below. I did this because I felt not only was I not exactly happy with the 2****nd**** chapter but also it would help me emerge myself back into this story. So yes, I will definitely be continuing this story. Oh, there is also another thing I want to explain, the first chapter I wrote, well I wrote that when I myself was in a dark place. I've struggled with depression for awhile and that was one of my extreme lows. So bear with me, I'm sorry if the chapters from now on don't hold as much heaviness. I don't exactly want to put myself in a dark mindset so I can write a story, nor do I think I could. Okay okay, enough babbling from me. Without further ado! The remade 2****nd**** chapter! 3**

The whole class period all Sasuke did was sit there staring at Naruto with his ever present smirk. To Naruto it became very unnerving, and he couldn't help but fidget under his gaze. All that did was make the new boy's smirk widen. His eyes twinkled in amusement, as he watched Naruto carefully, taking in all his features.

Sasuke couldn't help but be awe-struck by the boy's amazing looks. Bleach blonde hair, that spiked up in a rather messy hot type way. His ocean blue eyes, and thick eyelashes. Sasuke had never been one to care what people say, the boy was openly bisexual and really didn't care what people had to say about it. Not that anyone really cared, all they cared about was his 'bad boy' type look. It had girls AND boys practically dropping at his feet everyday

One thing perplexed Sasuke at this moment though. The boy he was sitting next to was just as good looking as him, but yet no one sat next to him, and it seemed as if everyone ignored his very existence. In fact when Sasuke sat down, he heard tons of people to stay away from the blonde haired boy, and harsh words such as 'He's a monster, get away from him!'. Why does everyone not like him? Did he do something to piss them off? Is he some type of creepy pervert? All of these questions swam around in Sasuke's head as he stared at the fidgeting boy beside him.

"Oi, what's your name?" Sasuke asked the blonde boy, who stiffened at his voice. The next thing he knew the boy looked at him, with a heartbreakingly fake smile. Sasuke's smirk fell as he looked at the boys forced smile, it seemed as it took all of the boys strength to do something so simple.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, it's nice to meet you." Naruto answered, his lips practically quivering from trying to smile so much; the raven haired boy sat next to him, so why not act… normal for once. Sure it takes more muscles to frown then to smile but, Naruto was so used to the apparent frown on his face, that it seemed weird to smile. Not natural if you will.

He'd never been confronted like this before, in the rare case that his high school got a new student, all the other kids made it their duty to make sure they stayed away from him. Made sure they knew how horrible of a monster Naruto was.

He wondered why the boy decided to ignore they're warnings, and ultimately chose him over the majority. Doesn't majority rule?

Isn't everything about being popular to normal teenagers? Isn't it about who's the best looking?

Sasuke was definitely one of the best looking people Naruto had ever met, and usually the good looking ones were the ones that were the coldest, so why did Sasuke sit next to him? Was he going to torment Naruto? Was he just faking being nice to get him to let his guard down? Naruto had no clue, and that scared him. He needed to stay away from him, or who knows what'll happen.

Sasuke noticed the slight twitch in Naruto's smile, and how he seemed to edge away from him, and he frowned. Was he freaking him out? He was trying to be nice… something that was strange knowing Sasuke Mr. Expressionless. He never found interest in anyone, but this Naruto boy somehow managed to grasp his attention. He was so used to people falling for him, and doing anything to get close to him that Naruto's edginess threw him off.

Sasuke was about to ask Naruto what his schedule was when the stupid school bell decided to ring. As if on cue Naruto jumped up out of his seat, and was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving Sasuke dumbfounded. Sasuke sighed, but gathered his belongings, and made his way out of the classroom.

As soon as Sasuke stepped out of the classroom doorway, he was stopped by a girl with bubblegum pink hair and striking green eyes. She was pretty but she was just like the majority, she was average and she had the same reason for coming up to him as everyone else.

"Hey sexy~" She purred, casually running her hand up his thin yet toned arms. "You know, that shirt looks really great on you, can I talk you out of it later?" She flirted batting her eyelashes, trying to look sexy but failing miserably.

"Sorry, I don't have time to waste on people like you." Sasuke replied bluntly, pushing past the astonished pinkette. He quickly ditched her looking up and down the halls for the peculiar blond. He felt something, he didn't know what it was but he FELT something. It'd been forever since he felt actual emotions. He had walls up so high no one would be able to see even a glimmer of the real him even if they tried their very best. But then this boy, a boy he'd not even had a real conversation with, just came and made him feel something. Sasuke had never ending numbness to everything around him, or at least that's what he had thought. He didn't know how someone could just simply show up in his life for a few minutes and change everything for him. He didn't understand but he wanted to.

Sasuke wanted to have the same effect on Naruto, Naruto had on him.

Meanwhile Naruto sat on the roof of the school building wanting to forget Sasuke even existed in this world. Sasuke wasn't the only one who felt something, but Naruto didn't see it like Sasuke did. Naruto had inescapable sadness that seemed to grow stronger by the days, he'd been so sad for so long he was use to it. Not even just use to it, but maybe even addicted to it. He had it set in his brain that he wanted things to change but that they never would. He wanted a difference but he denied the very thought that a difference existed.

_This is just the way life is for me_

He told himself that all the time. Naruto no longer gave himself a chance to get better, he didn't realize it but he was the one taking away his chances at happiness. He was waiting for someone to come and make it all better, waiting for people to change their opinion of him. But before that could even begin to happen… he had to change his opinion of himself.

Naruto knew Sasuke was different. Sasuke talked to him like he was a normal person… no one did that, not even Jiraya, sure he raised Naruto but he was never really there for him, he was always busy. Not only that, but he sometimes thought of Naruto as a burden when they lived together. Now he doesn't but when they lived together he would easily snap, and sometimes forget his existence. This is also another reason as to why Naruto thought so low of himself. No one gave him the love he deserved growing up; all he knew was hatred and half-assed I love yous.

Naruto didn't know what it was like to have someone love him, or even care to get to know him. But… looking into those obsidian eyes, it was like Naruto saw something he never planned on having; a future.

**Kc: Hey Guys! Thanks for reading! Sorry that this one is so much shorter but there's more to come! I'll upload soon 3**


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